Car Service Uber Adds Hybrid Vehicles, SUVs

On-demand private-driver service Uber just got a little more environmentally, and pocket-book, friendly.

On-demand private-driver service Uber just got a little more environmentally, and pocket-book, friendly.

Can't afford a town-car trip to the airport? Uber is adding a cheaper option to its lineup of luxury vehicles, with the inclusion of hybrid cars at a price 30 to 75 percent less costly than the premium customers currently pay.

Uber's vehicle fleet consists of existing for-hire car services that contract with the company to use its technology, while paying Uber a cut of its fares. Customers pay a handsome price (beginning with the base fare of $7 or $8, depending on the city, then adding a per-mile cost) for the car service itself, as well as gas usage, which can rack up pretty fast with a large vehicle and high pump prices.

Pricing will be formatted slightly differently with the new service. TechCrunch reports that the base fee will be $5, with an additional $3.25 per-mile fee.

Hybrid cars will save drivers time and money at gas stations, at least in New York and San Francisco, where the hybrid option will begin rolling out this week, The New York Timesreported. The company operates in cities around the world, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Paris, and London.

Prices vary between cities, but most hybrids will cost customers 30 to 40 percent less than the usual town cars, Uber Operations Manager Scott Munro told the Times.

The addition of hybrid cars will help Uber "go to the masses," the company's CEO Travis Kalanick told the paper.

Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a completely opposite move, Uber will also be adding an SUV option for large groups.

Uber's software, compatible with iOS and Android smartphone platforms as well as any Internet browser, predicts where rides are likely to be in high demand during the day, providing drivers places to wait until a request is made.

Startup Uber raised $43 million from investors since 2011, the Times said.

Stephanie began as a PCMag reporter in May 2012. She moved to New York City from Frederick, Md., where she worked for four years as a multimedia reporter at the second-largest daily newspaper in Maryland. She interned at Baltimore magazine and graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (in the town of Indiana, in the state of Pennsylvania) with a degree in journalism and mass communications.
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